Rhode Island Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) RFA-DP-11-001 RESEARCH & RELATED Other Project Information 7. Project Summary The Rhode Island Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is part of the CDC's initiative to reduce infant mortality and low birth weight. Based at the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALHT), RI PRAMS is an ongoing state and population based surveillance system designed to collect self-reported information on maternal behaviors and experiences that occur before, during and after pregnancy among women who deliver live infants. Response rates are critical to the quality of a surveillance system such as PRAMS, and the CDC set a minimum response rate of 70%, which was reduced to 65% with 2007 data. Rhode Island has achieved a minimum response rate of 70% each year since it began collecting data in 2002. RI PRAMS randomly selects approximately 170 women from the Rhode Island birth file each month. These women receive a questionnaire by mail and non-respondents receive follow- up mailings. Additional attempts to contact non-respondents are conducted via telephone. RI PRAMS sampling involves stratification by low lightweight, normal low birth weight, core cities (defined as cities with 15% or more of children living in poverty), and the rest of the state. All women who gave birth to a low birth weight baby are sent a survey. RI PRAMS materials, including surveys, are available in English and Spanish. RI PRAMS works in partnership with its Steering Committee, HEALTH programs, other state agencies and community based organizations on survey development, data analysis and dissemination, and policy development. to assure PRAMS data are used for decision-making. Key objectives for this project include: maintain monthly operations, work with the CDC on survey revisions and process/system changes, work to increase response rates among subpopulations, convene PRAMS Steering Committee, educate healthcare providers and the public, analyze and disseminate data, utilize data for policy development and program enhancements and protect human subjects.